The insurance muddle

Sir,
I have a vehicle which has a top speed of approximately 95 m.p.h. and a 0-60 time of 12 sec. or so and at 21 I pay £45 p.a. for fully comprehensive insurance.

My friend’s vehicle has a maximum speed of 120 m.p.h., a 0-60 time of 7 sec. and at 19 he pays £19.50 fully comp. Incidentally, we both insure through the same company and have three years’ no-claim bonus. The vehicles? I have a Spitfire Mk. 4 and he a Triumph 650-c.c. motorcycle, and I thought insurance was based on performance!

G.M. Child.
Wallingford.

***

Sir,
The answer to Mr. Ford’s question is quite simple: some insurance brokers try harder than others. There are those who operate on a one-man-band “post office” basis; and at the opposite extreme there are those who use all the available facts (merits of each individual case) to the best advantage of their client—the man who pays the premium; in this case Mr. Ford.

Many insurance companies use a manual and quote arbitrary premiums unless “pressed” by a broker; hence the value of a good broker to a private individual.

Also bear in mind a broker works on a commission basis, therefore the higher the premium the higher the commission. Therefore I submit that Mr. Ford took the wrong decision. Assuming that the company was financially sound, he should have accepted the cheapest (or, rather, least expensive) quotation given to him—thus rewarding the brokers who did their best for him with his business.

C. L. Billson.
Lloyd’s.
London, EC3.